Whitman Expo
1925 Norse American Medal MS Thick Values
Details
The 1925 Norse medal is an unmonetized octagonal-shaped silver piece honoring the centennial of the Norwegian ship Restauration arriving in America. The ship carried many Norwegian who went on to lead successful lives in their new homeland, with a great number of these immigrants settling in Minnesota. The piece was intended by its Congressional champion, Ole J. Kvale, to be a commemorative half dollar, but with so many already commemoratives already approved during the year, a medal became the likeliest option for authorization. Variations of the medal were struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
Some 33,750 were struck on thick planchets and a scarcer 6,000 were produced on thin planchets. The medal enjoys great crossover appeal with both coin collectors and medal enthusiasts, in part because it has numismatic origins as a piece intended for the traditional commemorative series spanning from 1892 through 1954 but, obviously, was realized as a medal.
Obverse: Viking warrior in horned helmet with sword and shield advances from dragon ship, inscription NORSE AMERICAN CENTENNIAL above, dated 1825 - 1925 in the field.
Reverse: Dragon ship sailing right under four-line inscription, AUTHORIZED BY / CONGRESS OF THE / UNITED STATES / OF AMERICA with date of Leif Erikson's discovery below, A.D. 1000.
Source: Stack's Bowers
Basic Information
GSID:
10334
Coin Date:
1925
Denomination:
Medal / Medal
Designation:
MS
Mint & Coinage Details
Mint Location:
Philadelphia
Coinage Type:
Classic Commemorative
Coinage Years:
1892-1954
Composition:
Silver
Varieties and Classification
Variety:
Norse American
Variety 2:
Thick
Physical Characteristics
Fineness:
0.9
Strike Type:
Business
Coin Shape:
Octagonal
Design Details
Designer:
James Earle Fraser
Obverse Lettering:
NORSE AMERICAN CENTENNIAL, 1825 - 1925
Obverse Designer:
James Earle Fraser
Reverse Lettering:
AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, A.D. 1000.
Reverse Designer:
James Earle Fraser
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